31 Days of Horror 2014 – Frailty (2001)

“We don’t kill people, we destroy demons.” – Dad

I miss video stores. My first job was as a video store clerk, and I loved roaming the rows of VHS boxes & DVD cases representing countless stories that I hadn’t had the time to indulge in (or that weren’t released) at the theater.

Sure, there’s streaming services today like Netflix (limited) and Amazon (expensive), but it’s not the same. One of my favorite “finds” back in the day was the movie “Frailty”. The budget was modest, but the acting was fantastic and the story is one of my favorites among the thriller / horror genre.

 

Summary:

A widower father has a vision that he’s been chosen by God to slay demons who walk the Earth in human form. He recruits both of his young sons to assist; one who is willing and eager to take part in his dad’s new found faith and the other who believes his father might be delusional.

Starring: 

Bill Paxton (Aliens, True Lies), Matthew McConaughey (Reign of Fire, Interstellar) and Powers Boothe (Tombstone, Sin City)

Watch the Original Theatrical Trailer: 

My Review:

Frailty gains its momentum slowly as it reveals one small piece of the story at a time. This doesn’t always work for movies in the Thriller genre if the cast or script is lacking, but that’s definitely not the case here. The film throws out plenty of twists and turns, albeit subtle at times, that leads the viewer down a path to which the destination is impossible to predict.

Frailty was the directorial debut for Bill Paxton, and I honestly have no idea why he only has two full-feature films to his credit. Paxton does a fantastic job developing the story while getting the most out of his talented co-stars. McConaughey is refrained and subtle in his role (a nice break from his usual over-the-top charm) and Boothe is always solid in his ‘ethically-challenged’ character roles. It’s actually Paxton, however, that makes the film ‘gold’ for me. His portrayal of “Dad” gets the viewer liking him, even though we’re watching a guy who appears to be going nuts while recruiting his sons to commit murder with him.

Best Scene:

My stomach literally turned queasy during the scene in which Paxton (aka “Dad”) delivers the line I featured above.

Scare Meter:

I’d give it a 7 ‘chills’ out of 10. No over-the-top gore or jump-out-of-your seat moments. Just creepy as hell.

Best Place to Find:

I happen to own this one on DVD ($6 Blu-Ray on Amazon), but you can rent it for only .99 cents on Vudu.com. You can also find it available for rent / stream on Amazon and Google Play, but you’ll pay closer to $2.99 for those services.

If You Like This Movie, Check Out:

Fallen (1998), Identity (2003), The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2007), Prisoners (2013)